New Orleans Saints RB Adrian Peterson: 'Doubt motivates me'

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New Orleans Saints running back Adrian Peterson, arguably the greatest of his generation, is attempting to regain his form in 2017 after an injury-plagued 2016 season.(Gerald Herbert/AP)
By Geoffrey C. Arnold
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New Orleans Saints running back Adrian Peterson, arguably the greatest of his generation, is attempting to regain his form in 2017 after an injury-plagued 2016 season.(Gerald Herbert/AP)

By Geoffrey C. Arnold
The Oregonian/OregonLive

New Orleans Saints running back Adrian Peterson is arguably the greatest back of his generation, but he has plenty to prove in 2017.

Peterson is trying to prove that he can still produce at a high level after an injury-plagued 2016 season. He struggled with a knee injury and was eventually released by the Minnesota Vikings, who declined his $18 million option in 2017.

Peterson has heard the whispers that he's on the decline at age 32. He signed a two-year, $7 million free agent deal with the Saints after a number of other running backs joined teams.

"Yes, the doubt motivates me," Peterson told Bleacher Report. "I'd be lying to say it doesn't. You want to do things people say you can't do."

Peterson gained just 72 yards on 37 games in three games in 2016. He suffered a knee injury during Week 2 and didn't play again until Week 15. He didn't possess the same explosiveness after his return and didn't look like the player who has rushed for 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns during the first 10 years of his likely Hall of Fame career.

Peterson says he's healthy now and ready to end any doubts about his ability. Peterson can look back a couple of years to find a reason for his confidence. He suffered a season-ending knee injury during Week 1 of the 2014 season, but rebounded by rushing for a league-leading 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2015.

Peterson is expected to be the backup running back behind Mark Ingram to start the season.

"There are some things I've seen him do that are rare," New Orleans coach Sean Payton told Bleacher Report. "Regardless of how talented anyone is, at some point it fades or diminishes. I don't think it's happened for him yet. I really don't. And that's exciting. I think he's physically capable of giving us a very, very high, elite-level performance. I feel that way."